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Top 20 The Big Bang Theory episodes

The Big Bang Theory is finally returning from its midseason break tonight at 8.30pm on E4.

To celebrate the return of the show that is, let’s face it, this generation’s Friends (but with WoW and Morlocks and nerd stuff), we’ve compiled a countdown of our top twenty episodes ever.

How many of these do you remember? Do you agree or have we missed your favourite? Let us know by tweeting @tvguideshows!

20. The Zarnecki Incursion (season 4, episode 19)

Leonard, Sheldon, Howard and Raj (but mostly Penny) become real life superheroes as they go on a quest to retrieve Sheldon’s stolen World of Warcraft items from a teenage hacker.

19. The Pirate Solution (season 3, episode 4)

Sheldon offers Raj a job working for him after Raj runs out of funding for his research, prompting a battle of the egos. Meanwhile, a lonely Howard interrupts Leonard and Penny’s relationship time.

18. The Ornithophobia Diffusion (season 5, episode 9)

Ornithophobic Sheldon finds himself pushed to his limits when a bird flies into the apartment, while Leonard and Penny go on a date that totally isn’t a date.

17. The Pancake Batter Anomaly (season 1, episode 11)

Sheldon’s severe hypochondria and outrageous behaviour while sick appears for the first time in this episode, during which Sheldon becomes ill and Penny is forced to look after him after the boys evacuate the apartment.

16. The Herb Garden Germination (season 4, episode 20)

Sheldon and Amy test a hypothesis that a rumour about a scandalous liaison between the two of them will spread faster amongst their friendship group than a rumour about their gardening habits, to hilarious results.

15. The Thanksgiving Decoupling (season 7, episode 9)

The team head to Mrs Wolowitz’s (R.I.P) for Thanksgiving dinner, during which Howard tries awkwardly to bond with Bernadette’s father and Penny discovers that she accidentally married former flame Zack in Las Vegas.

14. The Justice League Recombination (season 4, episode 11)

Leonard, Sheldon, Howard and Raj convince Penny and new boyfriend Zack to join them at a New Year’s Eve party at the comic book store, where they dress as the Justice League to try to win a costume competition.

Howard returns from his trip from outer space to find Bernadette sick and the rest of the group have made plans without him, replacing him with Stuart from the comic book store.

11. The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis (season 2, episode 11)

Sheldon obsessively searches for a Christmas present for Penny that is of equal value to her present and their perceived level of friendship, while Leonard becomes jealous when Penny starts dating a scientist who is both smarter and better looking than him.

10. The Panty Piñata Polarization (season 2, episode 7)

Sheldon and Penny go to war with one another after Sheldon declares Penny has reached three strikes for poor behaviour and is now banished from the boys’ apartment.

9. The Love Spell Potential (season 6, episode 23)

After they are forced to abort their plans for a weekend in Las Vegas, the girls join the guys for a game of Dungeons and Dragons, where Sheldon and Amy play dirty make believe.

8. The Einstein Approximation (season 3, episode 14)

Sheldon believes that by taking a note out of Einstein’s book and working in a menial job, his brain will be free to solve a particularly troubling maths problem he has been obsessing over.

7. The Adhesive Duck Deficiency (season 3, episode 8)

Penny slips and injures her shoulder in the shower and Sheldon is forced to help her dress and drive her to the hospital, while the guys accidentally get stoned on a camping trip to see a meteor shower.

6. The Cruciferous Vegetable Amplification (season 4, episode 2)

Sheldon announces he will be undergoing a series of life changes to increase his lifespan after learning he will die before technology enables him to transfer his mind to a robot.

5. The Opening Night Excitation (season 9, episode 11)

Star Wars episode 7 is opening on the same night as Amy’s birthday, leaving Sheldon torn over what to do.

4. The Bakersfield Expedition (season 6, episode 13)

The boys are robbed on their way to Bakersfield Comic Con, while the girls read comic books in an attempt to understand the obsession of their other halves.

3. The Staircase Implementation (season 3, episode 22)

Flashback episode in which Leonard explains how he came to live with Sheldon, and the truth behind the continually-broken elevator.

2. The Barbarian Sublimation (season 2, episode 3)

After hitting a low point in her personal life and career, Penny becomes obsessed with the online role playing game Age of Conan.

1. The Euclid Alternative (season 2, episode 5)

When Leonard starts working nights at the university, Sheldon is left without a ride to work. After exhausting the patience of his friends, Howard sets him up on a driving simulator to hilarious results.